the word "Bimbo"

[piccadilly]

does anyone know the origins of the word "Bimbo"?

[jno]

from Italian, I think, and until recently was a name for boys. Not sure how it got where it is today.

[Clanad]

jno is coorect in stating the origin is Italian...the term for a floozie or loose woman is probably derived from the Italian for baby. It makes its English appearance in 1918, in Rosano's Price of Honor in a bit of Italian-accented dialogue. The original meaning was a stupid, inconsequential, or contemptible person. By 1920 the floozie sense had developed...

[Peter Pedant]

Oh, the italian is bambino which is shortened in spoken italian to bimbo - remember the i is an eeeeee, and the o is quite short.

I never heard any girl being referred to as beeeemba but the ending identifies gender.

How it got applied to girls in English, see above.